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AirMagnet Survey PRO vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 5, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

AirMagnet Survey PRO
Ranking in Network Troubleshooting
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Network Modeling and Simulation (2nd)
NetAlly EtherScope nXG
Ranking in Network Troubleshooting
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Network Diagnostics (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of AirMagnet Survey PRO is 8.4%, up from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetAlly EtherScope nXG is 11.7%, down from 14.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Troubleshooting
 

Featured Reviews

Mark Witherspoon - PeerSpot reviewer
A solution for site verifications and enhanced with adapters that provide more realistic readings, but needs to support Wi-Fi 6E
Ekahau and AirMagnet Survey have their own pros and cons, in my opinion. For example, the APs are not visible in Ekahau but AirMagnet Survey allows us to see what APs and channels are being used in a live view, which Ekahau lacks. In Ekahau, the signal from the AP it's capturing at that time is visible which is a bit of an inconvenience. The predictive planner of AirMagnet's is better. However, Ekahau has advantages over AirMagnet because it groups all the SSIDs into one AP, whereas with AirMagnet, one needs to group them manually. Ekahau also supports Wi-Fi 6E, but its licensing is restrictive and more costly.
Chase McGee - PeerSpot reviewer
Reduces troubleshooting from hours to minutes, and increases our security by finding rogue devices
My favorite features, ones that I have used continuously almost every single day, are the Link-Live Cloud Service and the AirMapper Site Survey. The latter is absolutely essential to almost every business I go to. I move around the building and mark where I've been and then, when I get back to my desk, the information is on the dashboard, showing me exactly where devices are. I can see, "Okay, here are printers that shouldn't be there," and I can relocate them better. Or I can check whether the WiFi signal is strong at a given spot and whether I need another access point. The AirMapper Site Survey app is one of the biggest highlights of this product. When somebody asks me, "Why should I use this device?" it's the first thing I show them, and they usually love it. Its ability to gather WiFi site survey data is absolutely amazing. You can collect so many different things including using its spectrum analyzer. You can also use the directional antenna and other features to detect the WiFi signal, its strength and where things are at. If devices are having an issue, you can figure out the cause. Maybe it is behind a wall that is not allowing WiFi signals and you can determine, "Hey, I need another access point here to get my users the internet coverage they need." The AirMapper Site Survey Heat Maps were one of the first things that I used the device for. I wanted to see the WiFi signals, where everything was at, and what was the most used. That was able to help me determine that I needed a new access point inside our center for demos. We were getting a lot of drops there and I figured out that the coverage was not good. We had to get a replacement access point. Overall, the EtherScope nXG is easy to use for less skilled staff but it has deep diagnostics for experts. I had no experience when I first received this device. I had no training and, in less than a week, I was fully proficient with it. When I really wanted to do a deep dive and figure out everything about it through the Link-Live Cloud Service, I had so much data. It made my life a lot easier.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the predictive survey. The antennas' RF patterns are reflected correctly on the drawing when preparing predictive heat maps."
"It is reliable and easy to use (user-friendly). The heat mapping, passive network surveying, and doing the heat mapping of a building's wireless network allows me to see what level of coverage an area has."
"The benefit is with the ease of use of the software, I am able to show the customer, "Here is what your wireless coverage looks like." It is set up in a fashion that non-technical people can understand it."
"The AirMagnet Survey allows you to see the list of APs in the live view. It only supports certain adapters, which can be limiting, but it's also beneficial because these adapters are more comparable to real-life devices like laptops. With Ekahau, Sidekick needs to be used for full features, but I find the Sidekick too strong, which can hamper results. Therefore, I prefer AirMagnet's approach because the adapters provide more realistic readings."
"We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks."
"The addition of the AirMapper software on the nXG and our AirCheck G2s has helped a lot because we're mostly not drilling down into the data. Local managers only need to see the coverage on their end and whether there are performance bottlenecks. These things are easy enough for us to ascertain with iPerf."
"I would like to rate the product as eight of ten."
"Customer service is great."
"One of the key measurements that we use out of the device is the channel utilization measurement, how much traffic is on the air in a given channel. That's the most valuable feature for us. The ability to make a very fast measurement of how much traffic is on the air is a key value. Otherwise we'd have to do a packet capture and do some analysis. It speeds up our testing."
"The whole product is valuable because it's really a bunch of features that make up the one testing utility. Between auto tests, wireless assessments, its ability to do iPerf speed and traffic testing, as well as packet captures — all of those really contribute to a very successful product and allow me to do my job in a better manner."
"Being able to do a Wi-Fi walk-around survey with a handheld tool is one of the most valuable features of NetAlly EtherScope nXG."
"Another good thing I really liked was that it would not only tell me the IP address, but it would tell me more info. It would grab the CDP off of the CDP profile and read all the info it could get, so I knew what I was looking at."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to identify the switchboards, when you plug the EtherScope into the network drop, and all other details about the switch. This is very useful because when you are not in that IDF or network closet but far away from that switch, you can identify the board and then configure the board for your needs, remotely."
"Among those features that are important are the AutoTest to create a profile and then see that the network connection is in line with that profile. Also, the LANBERT test to have an idea about the quality of the cable. It is often the case that you have no reports on the cable infrastructure, so this test is also very valuable for us."
"The things that I find most valuable are the Wi-Fi app and the Discovery app. Those two things help a lot when I'm doing the initial discovery of a space. I also use the AutoTest feature quite a lot, especially if I'm troubleshooting."
"The most valuable features are the WiFi troubleshooting, network validation, and cabling validation, and the fact that it's an all-in-one tool. You don't have to carry different tools. The multi-technology functionality and its ability to do WiFi and wired Ethernet analysis in one device are the best aspects."
 

Cons

"AirMagnet Survey doesn't cover certain devices in the system."
"The throughput should be more advanced in the future. They need to add more versions of WiFi than just one."
"It would be nice to have some more training resources for younger techs. We can use them if we need some assistance, but that usually requires one of us who knows what we're doing to calibrate the programs properly."
"I would say some of our newer techs that are going out to job sites can be a little bit intimidated by the interface."
"But it's definitely a more expensive solution than other ones."
"The surveying features are in need of improvement, along with general usability."
"The user interface needs a lot of improvement. The auto-placement of access points is not accurate."
"AirMagnet Survey needs to support Wi-Fi 6E otherwise they can lose to the competition. They also need to allow better grouping of SSIDs to one AP, removing the need to filter manually. At the moment, you can filter by channel or SSID, but grouping all those SSIDs together is a difficult task."
"The reporting could be better, with more accurate measurements of loss over cables, impedance, etc. The mapping also needs to be improved. You should be able to do free formatting of the topology."
"The main area for improvement that stands out is the lack of a microburst dashboard, which some other vendors offer. However, NetAlly has carved out its niche by focusing on comprehensive network analysis up to layer seven, including automatic network mapping with tools like CyberScope. While there may be some features missing compared to competitors, NetAlly remains strong in its specialized market, providing robust solutions like EtherScope for detailed customer scans, despite being on the pricier side."
"The only issue that I have ever had is the battery life. It does drain a little bit quickly... While it's true that by the time I'm finished with my assessment it's usually dead, I have usually finished what I need to do and everything has been pushed to Link-Live. But occasionally, I might need a backup battery if I need to do something for multiple hours."
"One point of contention might be that when we were starting it up for the first time, there was a little bit of confusion about registration and getting the proper support plans applied. So, that could be more streamlined, but that's not uncommon in the industry."
"When it works, I love the AirMapper Site Survey app. Currently, my device has a hardware bug that the manufacturer and I are working on actively, to get it fixed or replaced. The 5 gigahertz radio on my device is flaky at best... It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the product itself, as much as it is some kind of unique hardware problem."
"There are some inconsistencies in how it uploads the test results to the cloud, but it might just need a minor improvement on the software side. When you don't have an internet connection on the EtherScope when you do the testing, it saves the results into memory. When it has an internet connection, it uploads those results, but it doesn't work all the time. Sometimes, you need to manually push it."
"For my usage, I thought the training would be maybe an hour, but I ended up having to spend an additional four to eight hours just to make sure I could adequately translate the data. So, using the tool was not that difficult, but translating the data is where there is a breakdown in what you are demonstrated and what you can actually do."
"The user interface could be a little bit more streamlined, a little bit easier. Sometimes it's hard to find a specific thing that you're looking for. In terms of hardware-based improvement, the battery would be the biggest issue. The battery goes out very quickly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For technical support, you need an annual license, but it is not worth it."
"The licensing of AirMagnet Survey is different when compared to Ekahu. It is a third of the cost of Ekahau but there are no dedicated laptops to the Sidekick. AirMagnet allows you to license an adapter and share that adapter."
"The moment we began needing more of the vendor's support, the cost became very high; we switched to another solution."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"This product is very expensive."
"The tool's pricing is medium."
"There is an annual cost of the solution. There are some additional charges, such as support and maintenance."
"It's the best 10Gig network tester for the price on the market."
"If we were to purchase separate meters to do similar things, it would be double or triple the cost for us to have each toolkit available. Being a small business, putting that much money on a single truck is not cost-effective. Instead, we could put the analyzer, network heat map, and cable tester all in one meter. That is why we went for it."
"Depending on the company, it could be somewhat costly. But just two of these devices can save you thousands upon thousands of dollars."
"It's a pricey device, but I see value in it from a business perspective."
"We paid for the additional maintenance on it (for an extra year) to get that extra coverage. This was the first time that we had this solution in-house, and it was pretty pricey. So, we wanted to make sure that anything went wrong, then we could get it repaired."
"In terms of pricing, EtherScope isn't cheap. It's a significant investment, and not a budget option."
"The pricing was a little bit high, but I understand that when you are getting multiple tools."
"I don't consider the pricing to be a problem. It's not a cheap device, but it's a very capable device for the money. It's a good value."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
9%
Educational Organization
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AirMagnet Survey?
We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks.
What needs improvement with AirMagnet Survey?
AirMagnet Survey needs to support Wi-Fi 6E otherwise they can lose to the competition. They also need to allow better grouping of SSIDs to one AP, removing the need to filter manually. At the momen...
What is your primary use case for AirMagnet Survey?
We use AirMagnet Survey, for site verifications after the wireless system has been installed. We conduct pre and post-install surveys with it. We have reduced the use since now our customers requir...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetAlly EtherScope nXG?
In terms of pricing, EtherScope isn't cheap. It's a significant investment, and not a budget option.
What needs improvement with NetAlly EtherScope nXG?
The main area for improvement that stands out is the lack of a microburst dashboard, which some other vendors offer. However, NetAlly has carved out its niche by focusing on comprehensive network a...
What is your primary use case for NetAlly EtherScope nXG?
We mainly use NetAlly EtherScope nXG for troubleshooting. Linksprinter helps us solve problems and understand how things work. For example, SpamTitan is automatic, but beginners might not understan...
 

Also Known As

No data available
EtherScope nXG, EtherScope, netAlly EtherScope, OptiView XG
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Houston Methodist Hospital, Love's Travel Stops
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.